shafnutz05 wrote:What an exciting finish... Single file until the last lap, half hearted move to the front, checked flag. Lame

Kind of like the bonzai charge to the finish in 2010 for the 88... fast enough to be the bridesmaid, but not enough for the win. The 88-55 move might have worked at Talladega, where the start/finish line is closer to turn 1.

Danica wants to race cars and make money. No one can blame her for that. The fact that she has sex appeal, and has become a very marketable figure is not her fault. Fox, ESPN, GoDaddy, etc want to make her a compelling figure. DW yesterday shoved her down our throat.

I just feel like hating Danica because the networks are leveraging her for $$ is misplaced.

I didn't think the race was that boring. If it's too easy to pass, then no one races until the end. If it's too tough to pass, then no one races until the end. What can NASCAR do? Track position was super important all day, and the finish was decent. Again, had the caution not come out or had BK been in the lead at that point (he was behind by a few inches) we would talk differently today.

JGR heartbreak. They were looking very likely to produce the winner until two engine failures. KyBu has to be thinking, "not again." Hamlin had a top 5 finish going until the final caution and BK came to lead the inside and Johnson went to the outside. Had the caution not fallen, he would have pushed Jimmie to the point. As it stood, he ended up by himself low and shuffled all the way back to 15th.

Phoenix - most important races were off pit road. Don't suspect many 88 fans are fans of Casey Mears right now, as that cost Jr the lead, and was the final lead change. As it were, out front Earnhardt was able to stay in front of Johnson the entire run. Might have been his longest stretch of laps led since the first Michigan last year.

(Moral for the 88 - qualify better to get a better pit selection, to be able to avoid such incidents)

relantel wrote:Phoenix - most important races were off pit road. Don't suspect many 88 fans are fans of Casey Mears right now, as that cost Jr the lead, and was the final lead change. As it were, out front Earnhardt was able to stay in front of Johnson the entire run. Might have been his longest stretch of laps led since the first Michigan last year.

(Moral for the 88 - qualify better to get a better pit selection, to be able to avoid such incidents)

This is an excellent point. Earnhardt has performed well going back to last year, but the qualifying has been a major issue. Nearly always mired somewhere between 15 and 25. As a matter of fact, it's amazing how consistent he is within that bracket of starters.